


Flip

by Lady_Cleo



Category: British Actor RPF, Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who RPF, Mattex - Fandom
Genre: Choose Your Own Ending, F/M, Heads or tails, Here there be angst, Mattex, or maybe not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-30
Updated: 2015-02-14
Packaged: 2018-03-09 16:40:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 3,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3257000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Cleo/pseuds/Lady_Cleo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It started with a coin toss. Well, to be honest, it started with a coin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

It started with a coin toss.

Well, to be honest, it started with a coin. Alexandra Kingston was running around in the woods by her home when she found it. It wasn’t a sparkle or a glimmer or even a glint in the sunlight- it was a cool, drizzly day and the truth was she tripped over it. To think that a coin could trip a not so little girl like her was silly, and so she’d decided it had to be something special. It had chosen her, for she never would’ve noticed otherwise, so she chose it right back and picked it up and took it home. She cleaned it carefully in the sink and put it in her keepsake box.

And from then on, when she needed to make a decision, if her heart wasn’t speaking to her, if she couldn’t make that final swing, she’d dig out the coin and give it a toss.

Heads… or tails.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a quick ficlet I whipped up for you guys. a few parts left to come, most of which are longer than this.  
> hope you like it.


	2. the wheel of fortune keeps on turning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Of Moll and men

She ignored the coin the day she said yes to Ralph. There were so many reasons to say yes, and he was so compelling in his proposal, and it was just a silly superstition. Who decided their fate based on the toss of a coin anyway? So she didn’t. Five years later when the ink was drying around her tears on the divorce decree, she kicked herself for not driving hell for leather through the night to Surrey and getting the damn coin out when he’d asked her. Or the day they’d met.

However, when the script came through from her agent for a daring new spin on a scandalous classic, where she’d be the heroine of a fabulous and amazing life, where she’d be strong and capable and smart and cunning and still able to fall in love, even though it didn’t really matter, she got out the coin. She flipped it four times, just to be sure, spelling out her character’s first name, and darned if it didn’t turn heads up every time. She smiled and reached for the phone to ring her agent and say of course.

Florian was different. She’d been spending time in America on _ER_ , and everything about him made sense. He wasn't an actor, he could be romantic, they even spoke the same language- literally - but she got the coin anyway. She remembered all too well the last time she’d gone into the “I do”s blind; never again. She gave it a toss twice for good measure. A few wobbly arcs of the metal disc and it landed heads each time. She felt better. She breathed easier. She kissed the coin and tucked it back in her jewelry box, then popped the small velvet case open and tried out the ring. It was a perfect fit.

Until it wasn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I borrowed mygalfriday’s creative timing from “sealed the sun in its frozen amber” because yes I know they got divorced *after* she shot Moll – there was a huge tabloid headline about the asshole’s misdeeds - but I love that story so much I figured a little skewing was allowed.


	3. Hello, Sweetie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hello... sweetie?

It should’ve been a no brainer, and it probably was; no matter what it said she’d have dialed the number already punched in her phone and just said yes. But the truth was- and _no one_ really knew this- River Song had been a coin toss.

It was a fabulous character and a great script and a two episode arc on a show she’d loved since she was little. Her agent practically screamed at her to take it, the one or two people she’d asked advice from had done the same, but Alex still dug that special coin out from the box she’d managed not to lose, gave it a kiss and said “heads, I say yes, tails, I say no.”

Balancing it perfectly on her tucked in thumb, she gave it a flick and watched it flip end over end over end, wibbling in a smooth arc towards her waiting palm...

Staring at herself in the wardrobe mirror three months later, she was pretty sure she managed to make spacesuits look sexy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well you guys seem to be liking it so far. ready for more? we're heading into Who time.


	4. Ask Again Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sometimes the answer is no.

Matt asked her on a date when she came back for the end of series 5. And she thought about it, really. But something told her to get the coin, so get the coin she did.

Their chemistry was electric on the set, and he charmed and smiled and teased and made her feel much younger than her age… and like she wanted to say yes. But when the coin was tossed, it came down tails. So she said no, and by the time she was pondering if maybe he’d been more serious than she’d realized, or if she’d made a mistake trusting it, she heard the news he was dating some young, leggy model. **God** , the tabloid photos that showed them off like a matched set, like a bloody ad for the prime of your life or some such rot.

She threw herself into her new series and let a character who would _never_ fall for a man take over for a while. It helped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not making a huge commitment to accuracy as to when Matt & Daisy were together in relation to Alex's turn as another 'mysterious archaeologist' at 165 Eaton Place. I was writing, it came out this way- end of story.  
> stick with me, kids. next chapter goes up on my birthday.


	5. It's Only Forever... Not Long At All

It should’ve been a no brainer, and it probably was- no matter what the coin said, she wanted to say yes. But she’d been hurt one too many times before, and the thought of jumping in like that, letting herself fall and trusting him to catch her seemed like too much. It was her something old, she decided, and she could at least carry it with her- if and whenever she tied the knot again. So she sat there, staring at the coin in her fingertips, willing herself to either toss it or just trust her heart for a change and screw the stupid bit of metal - when Matt burst into her room.

“Matt!” She exclaimed, her hand swallowing the coin into a tight fist. “What are you doing here?”

He paced, plowing his fingers over his regrettably short hair as though he’d forgotten there was nothing there. “I know I said I’d give you time, and honestly, I tried not to be stung that you didn’t just say yes and leap into my arms. But you’re more level-headed than me, and it makes sense you’d want to think about it. I just…” He slowed, approaching her carefully and settling on the edge of her chair, facing her and reaching for her hand. “I just wanted you to know I’m here. For you. Ready and willing and waiting, and really hoping you’ll give me a chance to prove just how much I… What’s this?”

His fingers had eased her hand open and his thumb was now tracing over the stamped face on the coin. Puzzling over it a moment, he lifted it from her palm and turned it over and over in his fingers before looking into her eyes. “Alex? What is this?”

She felt her cheeks flame and she dropped her gaze to watch her fingers begin lacing themselves together in complex knots. “I, uh… It’s… I mean, ever since I was little... It was just to be sure,” she finally mumbled, aware how ridiculous the thing sounded. She risked a glance up at his face and found him staring at the coin in his fingers as though he couldn't make heads or tails of it. “But I don’t really need it. I realized I don’t.” Her fingers clutched at his sleeve as he made to stand, only to slide off as he moved out of her reach. “Matt really, I don’t need it. I’m just... _used_ to it, I guess but I don’t, really. Darling, please.” She got to her feet and approached, resting her head against his shoulder.

He flinched like she’d scalded him through the material. Putting a yard or so between them, he turned, not enough to look at her, but enough to show him in profile- like a face stamped on a coin. “I didn’t realize you needed some cosmic reassurance about us. I didn’t realize you were going to be deciding our **_future together_** on the flip of a coin! Here,” he said, his voice neutralizing into a cool tone as he flipped the coin in her direction; Alex didn’t even try to catch it. “I hope you’ll be very happy together.” He stalked out of the room and pulled the door shut with a slam.

Alex stood there, numb, cold, uncertain, wanting to run in 20 directions at once but unable to move an inch. She stumbled back until her knees hit the edge of the chair and sank down, huddling in on herself for warmth. Eventually she grabbed the blanket draped over the back and wrapped up, crying herself to sleep.

When she awoke late the next morning, eyes scratchy and heart sore, she stretched and decided a cup of tea was not a bad idea. As her feet landed on the floor, a cool metal disc touched the ball of one foot and she jerked it back up. It was the coin she’d let fall the night before, the one Matt had tossed before he’d left.

It was heads up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so figured I'd ask.... would you guys kill me if I stopped here? I have more, but at the moment, posting it is… well, a coin toss.


	6. I'M IMPORTANT- READ ME

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ceci n'est pas une chapitre

Alright. So I decided that rather than post an entirely new version of this to finish the rest, I'll do a sort of "Choose Your Own Adventure" style fic.

If you stop at chapter 5, you get a fitting ending for a woman who built her life around the flip of a coin.

If you decide to read on, you get a happy ending. Hope you like it. I know this is unusual, but so is the story.


	7. Days go by and still, I think of you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> get over, get on, and remember to breathe.

It had been six days and Alex had never been more miserable. The day she found out about Ralph, the roles she’d been passed over for, both divorces, the photos she’d seen of Matt cuddling up with some age-appropriate female and irrationally hating her guts – they didn’t hurt as much as this.

According to the Ginger Scot on her sofa, the upside of a cancelled show was it left one with all sorts of free time. Karen had been by trying to cheer her up, letting her cry, getting her to eat, calling Jenn and Nicola for speaker-phone conferences of support. So she’d given Karen the coin, telling her to toss it in the bloody Thames. If Alex kept it, it wouldn't be good. If she tried to throw it away on her own, she wouldn’t let it go, and going to the river required leaving the hotel room, which she couldn’t bring herself to do. And even if she got there, the urge to throw in something more than the coin might prove too tempting. As long as it was out of her sight, she could get on with the business of learning not to care.

Three weeks later, a new month had begun and Alex had moved back to her flat. She managed to shower more than once a week. She put on makeup and forced herself to answer emails and go to lunch with Jenn. She’d even used her iPhone to make a few audition videos. She got ready to see her daughter – which was the best reason to get a hold of herself.

But Salome wasn’t due for a few days when a knock sounded on Alex’s door. And the face that filled her peephole was the last she expected to see – even if it was the only one (besides her daughter) that she _wanted_ to see. So when she opened the door, she did so despite a lump in her throat the size of a TARDIS.

“Hello,” she said as he stepped across the threshold.

“Hello,” he answered back while she shut the door and gestured for him to sit down.

“I’ve been doing some-" “Would you like something to-" They broke off their mutual sentences with a nervous chuckle, and Matt answered first.

“I’m good. Thanks. But can we… sit?” Alex nodded and they sat, minutes stretching awkwardly as they fidgeted without speaking. Matt cleared his throat and Alex jumped a foot. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” She waved the hand that had pressed over her heart in a negligent flutter. “But… what did you want to see me about?”

Matt furrowed his brow a bit, opened his mouth, shut it again, pursed his lips like he was considering what to say and repeated the process twice more until he straightened up and smiled and spoke. “I decided something.” He paused, and Alex gave him a ‘go ahead’ nod, bracing herself to hear ‘goodbye forever’. “The ring I got for you, much as I thought it was perfect in the store - it wasn’t. It’s beautiful and timeless and so are you. But I’ve spent a lot of time staring at it lately and… I think this might be better.”

He opened the velvet box that had materialized in his hand and there sat a ring unlike any Alex had seen. It was a band, with some marking on it that looked familiar… It was her coin, turned into a stunning shaped ring. She could hardly see for tears; it was perfect.

“Oh, sweetie. How did you…?”

The answer was out of her mouth the instant it left his: “Karen.” Alex gave a sniffly shrug as if to say _who else?_ The tips of his ears blushed pink, and he scratched at his cheek in an oh-so-Doctor move. “Hey, mother knows best, you know. And I had one made for myself, too. You know, for on the day. But I wanted you to see this now. And even if you tell me to piss off and never see you again, you’ll always have it. It was yours and... you _should_ have it.”

Alex hardly dared to breathe, to move, to _blink_ , lest the ring and the man offering it disappeared again. Matt’s hand covering her own drew her attention back up. “So Kingston, whaddya say?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for tagging along on this strange little journey with me. there's one more chapter to go... it'll be my Valentine to you, darlings.
> 
> also, this is what I think the ring looks like. (I picked this one b.c it's a shilling.)  
> http://www.instructables.com/community/Do-you-know-how-to-make-a-coin-ring/


	8. Our favourite part of the story...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love.

One year later, they were sitting on the balcony of Matt’s New York townhouse, overlooking the courtyard garden and reading scripts for potential projects. Alex had her feet up on Matt’s lap while she made notes and he absentmindedly stroked her ankle between pages. The ringing of Alex’s mobile jerked them out of their quiet reverie, and she debated not answering at all- until she checked the caller ID.

“Phyllis, good morning,” she managed cheerily for her agent. “To what do I owe the honor of such an early call?” She listened in silence a moment, and Matt set his script aside as a dozen emotions played out across his wife’s face. “Are you serious? I mean, you’re sure? _They’re_ sure? Really?” Matt tapped Morse Code on her ankle and mouthed _what?_ when she looked at him. She held up a finger and kept listening, occasionally making some murmuring noise into the mouthpiece. Finally, she said, “Well… send along the papers and I’ll talk it over with him. We’ll… let you know. Thanks for calling.” The phone was set down on the table and she turned to Matt, mouth slightly agape.

“For Pete’s sake, Alex, what is it?”

“Danny is doing a new spin on _Oedipus Rex_ , and he’d like us for the leads.”

Spluttering for a moment at the chance to do a Boyle project, Matt paused in his fanboying to ask a serious question through a sudden frown. “This isn’t going to be rehashing that Kingston cougar nonsense again, is it, because I swear-" Alex pressed her fingers to his lips and shook her head.

“No. It’s nothing to do with that. He just likes our chemistry, and wants to keep it a Brit production like his rework of _Frankenstein_. Although he has Matthew Goode in talks with maybe Kristen Scott Thomas or even Julia Roberts for the leads if he goes more 'American'. But it’s a bit like that Whedon chap when he did _Much Ado_ - same dialogue, even character names, but a modern setting. You’d be the CEO of King Enterprises, and I’d be your Jocasta. Two kids, home in the suburbs or country or whatever. Big outing of a secret somewhere in Act 3… All the same lines of the original, but a bold updated take. And film, not theatre. He’s trying his hand behind the camera again.”

"Okay. So if it’s not ‘what will people say?’ what’s keeping you? Why didn’t you tell her ‘yes we’ll be there with bells on, and if they need any help toning down the chemistry between the leads, they can call Moffat for pointers - or just have the fire brigade on standby with a hose?’”

Alex giggled, her curls dancing as she shook her head. “Not a problem. We’re allowed to be a loved-up couple – hot as we want.”

Matt blushed a bit, but rebounded with a smirk. “They might rethink _that one_  after the first few days, but if that’s not it, then what?”

Alex sighed. “Because it would start filming in 4 months.” He shrugged, a decidedly  _so what?_ sort of gesture. She ticked things off on her fingers as she continued. “You’ll just be finishing the post and ADR for that Renner film, I’ll be wrapping my deconstructed Shakespeare in London, there’s that new mini-series the BBC was talking about shooting in the winter, you’re getting project offers left and right, _ **and** _ we’ll have Salome for six months. We wouldn’t catch a breath.”

Matt caught her hand, laced their fingers together and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “But we’d be **together** and that’s what matters. Sal doesn’t mind set visits; she never has. We could share a trailer- sure the line director would be happy about that- and we’ll sail through read-throughs and takes no problem, and all get big fat nominations…”

Alex dropped her gaze and nibbled on her lower lip rather than reply, so Matt smiled and cupped her chin in his palm until she looked at him. “And besides, how many chances does a guy get to put proof of his love for his wife on a screen? It’ll be captured on film for eternity, so it’s not like I can take it back- not that I ever would.”

Alex graced him with a smile, the corner of which he grazed with his thumb before reaching into his pocket. Producing a quarter, he held it up, and kissed her hand again. “So, sweetie, what’ll it be- heads or tails?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so there's my other ending. hope you had fun on my crazy little ride.  
> the summary quote (besides being quite apropos) is from Oedipus at Colonus.  
> and this lovingly references ilovealexkingston’s “A King’s Love” for the Oedipus project; it was too awesome to pass up.
> 
> happy Valentine's, my dears. much Mattex love.


End file.
